Russian court docket rejects jailed US journalist Gershkovich’s detention enchantment | EUROtoday

Issued on: 23/04/2024 – 17:29

1 min

Gershkovich, 32, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo jail for greater than a 12 months after he was arrested whereas on a reporting journey to Russia.

He is the primary Western journalist because the Soviet period to be arrested by Moscow on spying expenses – accusations that he, his employer and the US authorities reject.

“The first court of appeal ruled that the order of 26 March 2024 on the extension of the preventative measure should be left unchanged,” decide Alexander Pushkin stated in Tuesday’s listening to, an AFP journalist reported from the court docket.

The listening to was a technical enchantment towards an earlier resolution to maintain Gershkovich in detention not less than till June 30 pending a trial, it didn’t concern the deserves of the case.

The reporter – who used to work for AFP and The Moscow Times within the Russian capital – stood in a glass dock within the courtroom, sporting darkish trousers, a white t-shirt and a darkish shirt.

He smiled and gave a thumbs-up when a reporter requested him how he was doing.

Moscow has not supplied any public particulars of its case towards Gershkovich, saying solely that he was “caught red-handed” within the Urals metropolis of Yekaterinburg final March.

Russia has stated there are discussions behind the scenes on a potential prisoner alternate involving Gershkovich.

President Vladimir Putin has publicly implied Moscow want to see the discharge of a person Germany says was working for the Russian state when he killed a Chechen insurgent commander as a part of a deal to free Gershkovich.

Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of arresting US residents in a bid to make use of them as pawns to safe the discharge of Russians jailed overseas for severe crimes.

(AFP)